Forrester: RIM rules security roost

Apple's iPhone and iPad are increasingly being adopted in the enterprise and secure enough for most firms, but high-security companies are likely to stick with Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform, according to a Forrester Research report.

Apple's iPhone and iPad are increasingly being adopted in the enterprise and secure enough for most firms, but high-security companies are likely to stick with Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform, according to a Forrester Research report.

The report concludes that the iPhone and iPad are "secure enough" with the right policies and technical controls. Indeed, Apple supports email message encryption, device wipes, passcode locks, autolock, automatic autowipes, protected configuration profiles and continuous refresh. Forrester says these seven security no brainers are possible on the iPhone and iPad via ActiveSync. Overall, the iPhone can be an approved second smartphone in the enterprise as long as companies stick to the iPhone 3GS, 4 and iPad, which support hardware encryption. However, the inability to close jailbreaks will give enterprises an excuse to avoid Apple's platform, said Forrester.

RIM's BlackBerry platform allows more fine-grained application controls for enterprises and remain the go-to choice for many companies. Forrester said:

These shortcomings in iPad and iPhone security and device management features may be deal killers for some IT security managers, especially those who appreciate the granularity of security controls for the BlackBerry.

The trick is knowing what your company needs-and doesn't-on the security front. Forrester has this handy chart to set a security high-water mark:

Click the image to enlarge.

From there, you can line up the iPhone and iPad's security features and see where they may fit.